The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1887-09-23
RUINED BY BEER.
The Malt Liquor Responsible for Large
Share of Female Inebriety.

VI 4GhAd1O
"Beer does it."
'Does what?', asked the reporter.
cit starts them,'' replied the police
sergeant. 'Do you see that woman?"
1t would have been impossible not
to see her, and having seen her once
it would be even more difficult to for
get her. She was not old, yet she was
bent and crooked as a scrub oak. Her
dress was of the poorest quality, be-
raggled, soiled and ragged. Her face
was scanned with lines or dissipation,
and her brown hair hung down her
back in a matted and tangled coil. She
leaned heavily against the sergeant's
desk, and looked defantly around her.
MARY" said the sergeant, "what is
it this timer"
"Nothin'," responded the woman.
sWhat is it, officer?"
Drunk and disorderly," replied the
officer. ''She was singing There
is a better land to the tune of 'We
won't go home till morning on Tenth
avenue about an hour ago, and when l
went to take her in she laid down in
the gutter and had to get truck to
haul her to the station house," and the
officer wiped his face as though the re-
collection even made him warm.
"Take her downstairs" remarked
the sergeant. mo need of question
ing her. I know her pedigree. Ten
years ago." continued the sergeant,
addressing the reporter, MARY was
as pretty girl as lived in this ward
once. thought of marrying her myself,
but friend of mine was ahead of me
and the wedding was the event of the
season.
"What is the cause of her down.
fallP''
Beer started her. John, her hus-
band-he was divorced from her five
years ACCUSED to bring home beer in
the evening, and she got to like it too
well. Now she drinks stale beer in tin
cans when she can't get whisky or
rum. | tell you, beer starts most of
them. Out of fifty women arrested
here last summer learned that thirty
of them got their first taste for liquor
from beer"
The reporter questioned promi-
ment physician of this city, who was
for several years connected with the
staff of the Fort Hamilton Home for
Inebriates, regarding the way women
begin to drink.
Il have studied rather carefully into
this subject replied the doctor, "'and
have few figures which may be in
teresting. Out of 200 inebriated wom-
en-, some of whom belong to our So
called first society," found that 1926
began their drinking by the use of
beer, 81 by drinking whisky Gas punch
at first usually, 20 began with wine, 8
with gin, and II could not remember
what beverage was first used. Of the
beverages first used, while in but 81
cases it began with whisky, in 1877
it had become the favorite bev-
erage. Several hopeless drunk
ards, have gone toward insanity,
had never drank any other intoxi-
cant than beer. One hundred and
twenty-five were committed to prison
for drunkenness. Sc for offenses
against chastity and public order and
16 for crimes against property. Their
ages when last committed averaged
304 years. Sixty-five were between
80 and Al years of age, 40 between Is
and 81 years of age, "a between 20 and
26 years of age, 80 between Is and Il
years of age. The remainder were
over Al years of age"
Elbow did this drinking affect their
children?'
Il have some statistics on this SUBJ
ject, too, OF Ill inebriate mothers,
SO of whom had inebriate husbands,
409 children were born. Of these 227
persisted in infancy and early child
hood, and of the survivors many are
doomed evidently to an early death.
In many cases the death of these chill
dren was indirectly due to the inebrie-
W VI LlC do NOIVy
etc. Ages: Twenty-seven of the 2O4
women began to drink intoxicants be-
fore they were ten years of age; IL be-
tween the ages of and Is; "a between
IA and q; 81 between 20 and 26; 80
between % and 81; 10 between 30 and
Al; between 40 and 81. +"
'.Do most women begin drinking
in early life?"
THE average age when they began
was 49, years. More than one-half
had formed habits of intemperance be-
fore they were q years of age, and
more than one-third at the giddy age
of from 10 to 20 inclusive. One hun
dred and thirty-two began to drink So
cially and. with female friends.
1.-THE police sergeant was right.
ssBeer does it."-M r Mail and En-
press. sfa@.9
A. PROMINENT Christian worker re-
Gently stated that he had in his office
q, book containing seven hundred